This Military Service Page was created/owned by
CWO2 Philip E. Montroy
to remember
Marine MGen Norman Anderson.
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Contact Info
Home Town Manitowoc
Last Address Virginia Beach, VA
Date of Passing Sep 06, 2009
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
MajGen Anderson retired from the USMC on June 30, 1972. After his retirement, he was very active in the MacArthur Memorial Foundation in Norfolk, VA. for 28-years. He served as Executive Director for the first 10 years and then as a member of the Foundation Board. He remained a Director Emiritus until his death.
The General died on September 6, 2009 in Virginia Beach, VA. He was buried with full-military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Other Comments:
MajGen Anderson was an aviation pioneer for nearly 4o years. He focused on developing (and defending) Marine Air's team approach to the support of ground troops. On Guadalcanal, he led th famous SCAT effort to resupply Marines on the ground at a time when Japan controlled the waters around the island. In Korea, he led the air cover for the Inchon landing. In Vietnam, he was one of the developers of the "Super Gaggle" concept which helped defend and save countless lives at the Battle of Khe Sanh during the 1968 Tet Offensive. After his retirement, MajGen Anderson went on to author a series of articles on close-air support.
"Amusing Historical Note": In 1941 he loaned his good friend, Greg "Pappy" Boyington, $1000.00
so that he could go to China and fight with the Flying Tigers. He later recalled that it was money well spent and that Boyington paid it back in-full and on time!
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)/Battle of Khe Sanh
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description The Battle of Khe Sanh was conducted in northwestern Quảng Trị Province, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), between 21 January and 9 July 1968 during the Vietnam War. The belligerent parties were elements of the United States (U.S.) III Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF), 1st Cavalry Division, the U.S. Seventh Air Force, minor elements of the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) against two to three division-size elements of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA).
The American command in Saigon initially believed that combat operations around the Khe Sanh Combat Base during the summer of 1967 were just part of a series of minor North Vietnamese offensives in the border regions. That appraisal was altered when it was discovered that NVA was moving major forces into the area during the fall and winter. A build-up of Marine forces took place and actions around Khe Sanh commenced when the Marine base was isolated. During a series of desperate actions that lasted 5 months and 18 days, Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB) and the hilltop outposts around it were under constant North Vietnamese ground, artillery, mortar, and rocket attacks.
During the battle, a massive aerial bombardment campaign (Operation Niagara) was launched by the U.S. Air Force to support the Marine base. Over 100,000 tons of bombs (equivalent in destructive force to five Hiroshima-size atomic bombs) were dropped until mid April by aircraft of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marines onto the surrounding areas of Khe Sanh. This was roughly 1,300 tons of bombs dropped daily–five tons for every one of the 20,000 NVA soldiers initially estimated to have been committed to the fighting at Khe Sanh. In addition, 158,000 large-caliber shells were delivered on the hills surrounding the base. This expenditure of aerial munitions dwarfs the amount of munitions delivered by artillery, which totals eight shells per NVA soldier believed to have been on the battlefield.
This campaign used the latest technological advances in order to locate NVA forces for targeting. The logistical effort to support KSCB, once it was isolated overland, demanded the implementation of other tactical innovations in order to keep the Marines supplied.
In March 1968, an overland relief expedition (Operation Pegasus) was launched by a combined Marine–Army/South Vietnamese task force that eventually broke through to the Marines at Khe Sanh. American commanders considered the defense of Khe Sanh a success, but shortly after the siege was lifted the new American commander in Vietnam, Gen. Creighton Abrams, decided to dismantle the base rather than risk similar battles in the future. Historians have observed that the Battle of Khe Sanh may have successfully distracted American and GVN attention from the buildup of Viet Cong forces in the south prior to the early 1968 Tet Offensive. Even at the height of the Tet Offensive, General Westmoreland maintained that the true intentions of the offensive was to distract forces from Khe Sanh.